Sunday, April 12, 2009

**SPOILER PIC** Michael Myers to Be Maskless for Majority of Halloween Sequel

Ryan Rotten of Shock Till You Drop landed a fascinating little interview with Halloween 2's makeup designer Wayne Toth on this Easter Sunday. The FX guru discusses a range of topics, including his surprisingly positive response to the bogus fan art that hit the web a couple of months back, the extensive use of dream sequences in the film, and most provocatively, the fact that The Shape will apparently be without his iconic mask for roughly "70%" of the sequel!

Here's Toth on the subject:

"I thought the reaction was pretty much going to be, What? No mask on Michael Myers?' But it's like anything else, as long as you're doing something cool, people get it. No one has dared to change the character, they just put him in different situations and that gets old pretty fast. Be daring with Michael Myers and change it, I think that was the appeal with this movie. It wasn't limited to a remake, like last time. We're taking it a step further."

This is bound to create some division in the fan community--which was already divided as to whether or not the remake sucked in the first place. For the rest of the interview, head on over to STYD. As for this "new design", the spoiler-wary among you might want to divert your eyes or jump to another site, 'cause I'm about to share an on-set peek of actor Tyler Mane sporting Michael Myers' maskless look. Here's the infamous shot which has been dropping jaws at STYD:

Well, no one can accuse Rob Zombie of being without balls. Although I'm tempted to say that without the Shatner mask, it kind of becomes less "Halloween" and more "Crazy Homeless Guy in a Jumpsuit Randomly Stabbing People". Stay tuned, true believers.

7 comments:

I was someone who actually enjoyed the remake, but I must say that Michael without the mask is a dealbreaker for me. Much like how in the Friday movies, it becomes ridiculous and robs Jason of his essence once the mask is removed, I feel Mike without a mask is just wrong. Like you said, it's less Halloween and more just some bum stabbing people. Even though Michael and Jason don't speak, it seems as if their masks give them some personality, and ironically enough, removing their masks, and showing who they are, takes it away. Jason just looks silly without it, and as for Michael? I'll just watch Strangeland if I wanna see people get killed by someone twisted (pun intended). I'll see H2, but my expectations have been greatly lowered.

I like that Zombie's doing his own thing with this one instead of trying to mimic the original sequels. I think his mimicry of the original in his remake was part of its problem. Zombie's got too original of a voice to be filming someone else's ideas, so here he is making these characters his own. With or without the mask, Tyler Mane is a scary dude. We'll see how it turns out. Right now, I'm skeptical, but hopeful.

I do admire the concept of trying something completely new with a character who's looked basically the same over the course of about 47 movies. Still, the mask epitomizes his complete mental vacancy, the "anonymity of evil", so to speak. I'll give it a chance, though. Tyler Mane is a scary dude, going back to his days wrestling for WCW as "Big Sky".And Britt, anytime I can make you spit out/nearly choke on some kind of food or drink, I consider it a victory.

RayRay - Look, I know I am shouting into the void, but does there really need to be a remake of a sequel? What ground was left uncovered? MM is a fairly conventional killer - what new twist is there? And should there actually be a twist, beyond the "no mask" thing, why waste it on a remake of a sequel of a fairly conventional [though very entertaining] sequel?

I may have said this before, and I am sure to say it again, but when a culture does not generate new ideas and/or stories, and always returns to the well, it is a sure sign of its decline.

I don't get how you can make a Halloween movie without the mask. That's what all these movies are about. You can take Michael Myers and put him anywhere while doing anything and as long as he's got the mask on it's a Halloween movie.

He could be having tea with Grandma as long as he does it with the mask on.

Which horror film *should* be remade?

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I've been fascinated with horror ever since my parents let me watch The Exorcist at 8 years old (what were they thinking??) and I ran up to my bed screaming when Linda Blair's eyes rolled into the back of her head.Although it often gets a bad rap from "mainstream" critics and audiences alike, horror has often been the most creative and vibrant movie genre of all, from Nosferatu to Saw. Some of the finest motion pictures ever made are part of the horror genre, including Frankenstein, Psycho, The Shining and my personal all-time favorite, George Romero's Dawn of the Dead.This blog is the culmination of my 25-year love affair with all things blood and guts--so check back here often for news and opinion on the world of horror. And remember...